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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393488">Heart Like Yours</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/w1nter_wr1ter/pseuds/w1nter_wr1ter'>w1nter_wr1ter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Dream Team - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>DNF, Dream Smp, DreamTeam, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, dreamnotfound</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:15:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,324</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/w1nter_wr1ter/pseuds/w1nter_wr1ter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dream Team has been having fun and streaming as always, when George discovers some long-buried feelings he struggles with.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dnf - Relationship, dreamnotfound - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>108</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Phone Call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey! This is my first fanfic, and it means a lot if you're reading this! Just a reminder, this is loosely based off of the streamers irl-personas, and I DO NOT SHIP the real people (!) despite the use of their real names. They are purely characters for the purpose of bringing my story to life! Also, there is a point where an anxiety attack occurs after George goes to sleep, so if you are sensitive towards this I suggest skipping past that point to the third or fourth last paragraph!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Listen, George, I <em>might</em> be more inclined to leave you alive if… you tell Dream you love him.”</p><p>“He paid you to say that, I know it.” George shook his head and laughed uncomfortably as Sapnap’s character gleefully crouched up and down on the screen in front of him. Dream let out a wheeze and immediately hopped on the bandwagon.</p><p>“Come on, George, just tell me you love me,” he quoted, wheezing even harder. George had a feeling that if he could see him right now, Dream would be bent over his keyboard, laughing his head off. He wished he could see Dream right now. Sighing, he pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the manhunt at hand. It was for his Twitch channel, which he was currently live on, him being the hunted and Dream and Sapnap the hunters. Sapnap currently had him cornered in the nether, surrounded by lava on all sides and on the edge of a precarious one-block-thick cliff. Dream was perched on the cliff just above him, watching his every move, lest Sapnap miss something. He was always too focused on the potential combat; noticing finer details was not Sapnap’s forté.</p><p>“I will <em>not</em> be saying that today, Dream,” George answered definitively. He looked up at Dream’s character, who crouched and looked down dejectedly. Sighing and shaking his head, he began taking stock of his inventory. He had almost a stack of netherrack, which <em>might</em> be enough to get him up to where Dream was, but not without him or Sapnap attacking him and most likely knocking him off to his death. He had a shield, but no armor, and both Sapnap and Dream had full iron. He <em>could</em> accept defeat, or he could pull a Hail Mary and go for it. As he’d been thinking, Dream and Sapnap had been carrying on their own conversation. There was little chance that neither of them would see what he was doing, but he had to try anyway. Dashing straight for Sapnap, he let out a shriek and spammed left-click with his axe in hand. Sapnap shouted “AH!” and started battling him back, but George kept running.</p><p>“Yes!” he shouted gleefully, F5-ing. Sapnap was still chasing him, swinging at random with his iron axe, but George was too far for him to hit. Dream jumped down from the cliff he’d been on to take chase.</p><p>“Get back here, Geooooorge,” he sang out. A chill ran through George’s veins as the adrenaline of the chase pumped through him.</p><p>“You’ll just have to catch me first, Dream,” he replied, deftly navigating the towering stacks of the basalt biome. Sapnap and Dream were hot on his trail, and Dream, being the parkour legend he is, was steadily closing the distance.</p><p>“Get away from me,” George ordered nervously. Dream cackled.</p><p>“Nope. You’re stuck with me, Georgie. Like a bad headache.”</p><p>Sapnap snorted. “What kind of simile is that? Got any migraines lately?”</p><p>“Technically, <em>technically</em>, if you want to sound correct, that was an analogy.” The smile was clear in Dream’s voice.</p><p>“Whatever, man,” Sapnap said in exaggerated annoyance. “You’re such a nerd, Dream. Chat, isn’t Dream just <em>such</em> a nerd?”</p><p>“Hey!” Dream protested, laughing. “You’re a nerd too, Sapnap. Anyone who plays Minecraft most likely is.”</p><p>Ignoring him, Sapnap giggled. “Ha, look, the mods started a poll. Guys, vote Dream, vote Dream!”</p><p>George just laughed. He loved his friends, but he would have loved them a lot more in that moment if their constant back-and-forth had at least distracted them a little bit from the task at hand. As it were, they’d tailed George all the way back to the fortress. Getting desperate, he quickly dug into the side of one of the columns holding up the fortress, blocked the way he had come, and alternately mined above him and towered up, hoping to slow down Dream and Sapnap. His plan worked, barely, and he made it to the entrance of the fortress and hit the ground running seconds before they did. He had five blaze rods already, and when they’d forced him out of the fortress originally, he’d traded with piglins until he had enough ender pearls. He just needed one or two more rods before he could make his way back to the portal, and George was determined to get them. He jumped as he ran, hopping onto the side of the path to avoid the Wither skeletons, and making some sort of sound that was a cross between a strangled yell and a giggle.</p><p>“What the hell is wrong with you,” Dream chuckled deeply. It wasn’t a real question, George knew, and he giggled.</p><p>“Where am I, guys? Where am I?” He drew out the last “I” tauntingly.</p><p>“I’m right behind you, you idiot,” Dream wheezed.</p><p>“So am I, dipshit,” Sapnap chimed in.</p><p>"Sapnap! Language!” George pitched his voice higher. They all laughed at his impression of BadBoyHalo. George was almost at the blaze spawner, with the other two boys right at his heels. He had to get rid of them somehow. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. He reached the intersection of halls, one of which led to the spawner, and beelined straight for the open dead end in front of him.</p><p>“What is he doing?” Sapnap asked Dream. George ran directly for the edge of the path, which was suspended above a lava pit. On his way to the spawner, he’d noticed there was a level of the fortress below them, which also happened to have the same dead end as the one he was currently on, directly underneath. It was a long shot, and odds were that either Dream or Sapnap would follow him, but he had to take it.</p><p>George jumped straight off the edge, at the last second curving his path and landing on the dead end that had been below him. He heard a shout as Sapnap fell into the lava, unable to land in time, and grinned.</p><p>“What the hell?!” Sapnap whined as his death flashed in the chat box.</p><p>
  <em>Sapnap tried to swim in lava.</em>
</p><p>Unfortunately, Dream managed to follow George’s exact path. Damn him and his quick mind.</p><p>“It’s just me and you, George,” Dream said menacingly, but it ignited butterflies in George’s stomach. His thoughts echoed Sapnap’s previous question: <em>What the hell?</em> Tamping them down, he danced around as Dream’s vaguely peach-coloured (though he knew it was lime green) avatar advanced, full iron armor on, shield in one hand, axe in the other.</p><p>“Listen, Dream, you don’t want to do this,” George stated, stalling for time. He glanced at his webcam with a mischievous smile for the viewers' benefit.</p><p>“Oh, I do want to do this. I <em>definitely</em> do.” His character jumped and swung with the axe, cutting his hearts in half.</p><p>“Dream! Dream, NO! Stop it!” George shouted, running the other direction. Except - he’d forgotten that he’d blocked it off earlier when trying to avoid Wither skeletons. George was, effectively, trapped. <em>Shit</em>, he thought. Aloud, he said: “Wait, please!”</p><p>“Hehe, nope! You’re a dead man, George. No escaping this time.” Dream’s character jumped and swung for a second time, dropping George down to just half a heart. He let out an ear-splitting scream.</p><p>“Dream, NO! I’m on half a-” With one last swing, Dream finished him off. He and Sapnap crowed in victory, and George sat dumbfoundedly staring at his screen, where he had the option of respawning or returning to the title screen. His gaze flicked from the monitor screen to his webcam alternatively. The chat was flying by too fast for him to read, so he ignored it. As per usual, he clicked respawn, teleported himself to Dream, and put himself in Creative mode.</p><p>“What the hell,” he said, more of a muttered complaint than a question. Dream laughed from where he was haphazardly spawning piglins, also in Creative.</p><p>“Come on, George, that was the easiest kill probably ever. I had you cornered! Nothing you could have done. Although, I would have taken a few different paths if I were you.”</p><p>“Thanks, Dream,” George muttered softly. He aggressively double clicked the space bar to fly, and flew to where Sapnap was setting fire to the crimson forest.</p><p>“Sapnap, how did you get to the fortress so fast?” He asked, referencing an earlier point in the manhunt, where he had made the fortress advancement, been happily killing blazes, when a minute or two later Dream and Sapnap had appeared out of nowhere. Dream had congratulated Sapnap on his “shortcut”. Sapnap launched into an explanation that involved the compass, piglins, and “good old-fashioned 1000 IQ-ness,” whatever that meant.</p><hr/><p>Hours later, after he’d ended the stream and they’d all logged off, George lay above his covers, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t stop thinking of the butterflies Dream’s voice had ignited. What did they mean? It had made him feel giddy and nervous all at once. Deciding that was a problem better addressed another day (or not at all), George got ready for bed, brushing his teeth then pulling on a soft pair of sweatpants and a tank top. Closing his eyes, George fell into an uneasy sleep, swirling with his murky thoughts of Dream.</p><hr/><p>The next morning, George woke to the sound of his phone buzzing insistently from somewhere in the room. Wait a second – peeling his eyes open, he saw that it was still dark out, probably about four in the morning. Who could be calling him at this hour? Wasn’t his phone on Do Not Disturb? A shock of realization hit as he remembered the only person he had disabled it for. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he located his phone (still on his desk, where he’d left earlier) and picked up the call, which was, thankfully, still coming in.</p><p>“Dream?” He asked, his voice muffled and tired. “What’s the matter?”</p><p>“G-George,” Dream gasped from the other end. “I can’t – I’m sorry, I can’t breathe –” the other man broke off. Indeed, it sounded like he was struggling to fill his lungs with air.</p><p>Alarmed, George shifted positions so he was sitting against his headboard. As he did so, he asked, “Okay, okay, just focus. In, out.” He paused as he heard Dream follow his orders. He knew it was a stupid suggestion, as Dream had had episodes like this before and knew the basics of handling them, but he had to say <em> something </em>. “Do I need to call someone? Like, the police?” Why would Dream call him this time? It sounded like a real emergency, and George was the farthest thing from a medical professional.</p><p>“No.” To his relief, Dream’s voice sounded more even, his breathing audible and steadying. “I just needed to hear your voice.”</p><p>“Oh… Okay.” Searching his memory as Dream breathed deeply in and out, letting out small noises of discomfort, he found one option (out of the many instances Dream had panicked like this) that was most likely. “Are you – is this an anxiety attack?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Dream responded, sucking in air. “I haven’t had one in a while, and I can usually handle them on my own, but this one… It was just – worse than usual. I had this awful pain in my chest, but it’s going away. I’m still sweating, and I couldn’t get any air in. My head was pounding and getting all fuzzy… I’m a little better now, though. Thank you.”</p><p>George’s brows furrowed in concern. “Oh my god, Clay, that’s serious! Why the hell did you call me?! Call your mother, she could have brought you to the hospital or something!”</p><p>“I’m fine, I told you. Nothing I can’t handle, usually. Besides, you’re basically like my mom anyway.” He could hear the smile in his friend’s wobbly voice. He was glad the attack seemed to be over, but he sighed in exasperation.</p><p>“Well, I’m glad I could help by… Talking? I don’t know. Next time, if it’s this bad, promise me you’ll call someone who can actually, <em>medically,</em> help you. Okay?”</p><p>“Okay, I promise. See, you’re always looking out for me. I know I can depend on you.” Dream had definitely calmed down a lot, but George had a nagging feeling that something was still wrong.</p><p>“Do you know what caused it?” He asked tentatively, well aware it was none of his business but wanting to know anyway. After all, Dream <em>was</em> George's closest friend, he justified. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”</p><p>After a beat, Dream took a breath. “Um… I think it was a combination of anxiety and all the stress I’ve been under recently. My ADHD doesn’t help much, either,” he added bitterly.</p><p>“Oh.” George shifted from where he had moved to sit, cross-legged, at the end of his bed. “Don’t you take meds for it? Sorry, I don’t know a lot about this stuff.”</p><p>“Yeah, but in the times in-between, when the pill wears off and it’s not time to take a fresh one yet, I might as well never have taken it in the first place. The effects of the ADHD just enhance any anxiety I might have, and in cases like tonight, combined with all the wrong things, it can result in an anxiety attack. Which <em>sucks</em>.”</p><p>“Sounds like it,” he replied softly. “I’m really sorry this happened to you, Dream. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it, George,” Dream reassured him. “You help by just… being here.” The other boy’s voice had taken on a soft, affectionate tone. George heard it often when Dream talked to him, and it seemed different, somehow, than how he talked to Sapnap. Sometimes he felt that way, too. Like he and Dream had something different. He wasn’t quite sure why.</p><p>“Want to stay on the line?” He offered, as he had so many times before. As big of a deal he’d made out of this attack, and it had been bad, Dream had called him in times of need before. Occasionally, he had a minor panic attack, and just needed someone to talk him through it. He claimed George’s gentle accented voice made everything sound better, and it made George laugh. How many times had he thought that about Dream? Conventionally, an American accent was harsher, less sophisticated than the English way of speaking, but George thought Dream had the most pleasing voice he’d ever heard.</p><p>Oh my god, he needed to get his thoughts back on track. He tuned back into the conversation, where Dream was politely declining his offer. Usually he would take him up on it, and they’d sit there talking, or in comfortable silence, for hours until dawn, but they were both tired and Dream claimed he had “big plans” for the next day. George knew better than to ask for more information; Dream liked his mischievous secrets and grand reveals.</p><p><br/>After hanging up, George crawled back under the covers and tried to sleep for a few hours more. It wasn’t hard, despite his lingering concern for Dream, and he was back asleep within moments. The last drowsy, unfiltered thought he had before his mind drifted off was:<em> I wonder if Dream is thinking of me right now.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Proposition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sapnap needs to do a project, Dream asks George a question.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! Just a quite note before the chapter, I know George technically lives with his parents but for the story I'm saying he lives alone :) ALSO I don't know his cats name so I just gave her one on my own. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, boys, what are we doing today?” Sapnap asked cheerily in his deep voice. </p><p>The said boys were on an early-morning Snapchat call – at least, for Sapnap and Dream it was fairly early. For George, it was around one p.m. His sleep schedule was so adjusted to theirs, though, that it might as well have been eight in the morning. Currently, he was sitting at his kitchen counter, his elbows propped up on the cool granite.</p><p>“Umm, I was thinking of filming a video for DreamXD, but I’ll probably wait a little while to do it.”</p><p>“Oh, okay,” George said, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. “I’ll probably just be chilling. Might catch a fat nap.”</p><p>“Of course, dude. You’re literally <em> always </em> sleeping,” Sapnap complained. It was true, but being in a drastically different time zone from his best friends was exhausting. George was constantly having to struggle between balancing his sleep schedule so that he could both hang out with his friends at a decent time, yet also function in his own life.</p><p>“Sorry, Nick. My real life calls,” he sighed as if there was nothing he could do about it.</p><p>“What does that even mean? Your real life doesn’t need you to sleep twenty-four/seven.”</p><p>“Whatever,” he replied, dismissing the conversation.</p><p>“One sec,” Sapnap said. Confused, George looked at his phone screen to see that Sapnap had muted himself. Dream was still in the call, but he’d either muted himself as well or wasn’t saying anything.</p><p>“Dream?” He asked tentatively.</p><p>“I’m here,” the other boy replied. “Miss me?” The smile was apparent in his words.</p><p>“Yeah, I missed you SO much, Dream,” George said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Uh, sorry guys, I gotta go. I forgot about a group project I had due in school. Talk to you later! Love you! Mwah!” Sapnap smacked his lips to make the obnoxious kissing sound, then disconnected from the call, leaving silence in his wake. A second later, Dream’s wheeze broke it.</p><p>“What the hell?”</p><p>George laughed as well. “I swear, that kid never does his homework. He was the one who started the call in the first place! What are we supposed to do now?”</p><p>“Well… I might have an idea,” Dream said suggestively. George raised his eyebrows, though he knew Dream couldn’t see.</p><p>“Oh yeah? What might that be, Dream?”</p><p>“I’ve been thinking. I’ve met Sapnap, right, and, I don’t know… I don’t really want the first time I meet you to be with a bunch of other people, because we’re like, best friends. I want it to be special.”</p><p>George could follow where Dream was going with this.</p><p>“So I thought it would be nice if you came to Florida for a week or two,” Dream said all in a rush, as if he had to force himself to say it. “Or, I mean, I could come to London, I just thought since Florida has nicer weather and all it would be nice to kind of have a vacation at the same time,” Dream rambled. George smiled. It was incredibly cute. <em> Wait, what? You don’t just think that of some mundane thing your best friend does, </em>his thoughts argued. Shrugging them away, George answered, “That sounds great, Dream. Oh – but, I was thinking. Why don’t you come to visit me instead? There’s still plenty to do in London, and even though it's only November, it’s forecasted to snow sometime in the next week.” Imagining Dream there, with him, possibly experiencing snow for the first time? It was too good of a possibility to pass up. Anxiously, he awaited the other boy's response.</p><p>“I – Wow, that sounds great, actually. I didn’t know if you’d want to come visit me, much less want me <em> there </em>, in London.”</p><p>George laughed. “What? Why wouldn’t I want to meet you in person? I’ll finally be ‘the second person to EVER see Dream’s face other than Sapnap’,” George snickered. Dream laughed too.</p><p>“Okay then, I’ll buy a ticket right away. Um, I was thinking the twenty-second to the first, maybe? Does that work for you?”</p><p>George pulled up his calendar and confirmed the dates worked for the both of them.</p><p>“And… Done! The plane ticket has been purchased!” Dream sounded happier than usual. George guessed he’d really been anticipating the visit, and now that it was confirmed, his excitement was infectious.</p><p>“We’re going to pop off!” George sang, wobbling his voice purposefully. “Me and Dream are gonna pop off in London!” </p><p>“Haha, yesss!” The smile was clear in Dream’s voice. “Should I… Should I get a hotel room?” The other boy asked hesitantly.</p><p>“No, silly, you’re staying with me,” George answered like “well, duh”. Why would he force Dream to get a hotel room when they could just live together temporarily? They were best friends!</p><p>“Awesome,” Dream said, sounding pleased. “Okay, well, everything’s all set. I will see you in… six days.”</p><p>“Yay! This is so exciting. When should we break it to Sapnap that he’ll no longer be the only person to see your face?” George asked, raising his eyebrows, though he knew Dream couldn’t see him. </p><p>“Uh… I guess when he’s done with his schoolwork,” Dream replied. George giggled.</p><p>“Haha, Sapnap’s so lame. Who still goes to school, right?”</p><p>Dream scoffed in the way he did when George was being particularly ridiculous. “Yeah, who gets a complete education? Not us, that’s for sure!” They laughed. “I guess we're the cool ones.”</p><p>“We’ve always been the cool ones,” George answered confidently.</p><p>“Yeah,” Dream agreed. “Anyways, I’m gonna head out, okay? I gotta get some stuff done to prepare for the trip.”</p><p>“Okay. Bye Dream! See you sooooon!” George giggled into the microphone. Dream chuckled, then ended the call. George sat there for a second, dwelling on the happiness he was feeling. He was finally going to see Dream, his best friend for how many years? It was going to be <em> awesome </em>. First, he needed to prepare. He knew what sort of food Dream liked, so he would make a shopping trip to get extra necessities and food for them. He usually ordered in, but he also wanted to go out, so he wouldn’t buy a ton of food in order to leave room for those nights. Surveying his flat, George noted the dirty dishes piled in the sink, the dust on practically every surface, and the mess of papers and miscellaneous things strewn across the counter. Sighing, he prepared himself for the long day of cleaning that lay ahead.</p><hr/><p>Exhausted, George tumbled into bed, gratefully burying himself under his freshly washed sheets. Being tidy was so much <em> work </em> . He knew it would be worth it, though, once Dream arrived at a regular flat and not one that smelled musty and looked slovenly. In the days to come, George would go grocery shopping, prepare the guest bedroom, and edit his latest video. For now, though, he could relax and scroll through Twitter. A few minutes into scrolling, a Snapchat notification popped up: <em> Snapchat from Dreamboi. </em></p><p>A smile immediately crept onto George’s face as he clicked on the notification and his phone opened Snapchat. Clicking on the coloured square (he couldn’t tell if it was red or purple, but he was pretty sure it was red) that signified a picture, he opened the snap.</p><p>It was a picture of Patches, her white front paws hanging onto the edge of an open suitcase half-full of a jumble of clothing, big eyes staring curiously into it. The picture was brightly lit, and George was surprised for a second until he remembered that Florida was hours behind him and still sunny.</p><p>“Patches is looking to stow away. Thoughts on Tiger having a friend?” The text read. Snorting, George tapped out of the picture and leaned over the edge of his bed, peering under it where Tiger was currently hiding. Her large eyes started out at him, and he quickly stuck his phone down and snapped a picture. Settling back down against his pillows, he typed out a response. “Only if Patches will hide under the bed with her. She needs a bed buddy. They can be the monsters under the bed! Hehe”. Sending the snap, George opened a group chat from Sapnap saying he was done with his schoolwork and asking if they could fuck around on Minecraft for a bit. He began to type out his “no,” but he saw Dream’s bitmoji pop up and start typing. Not quite sure why, he deleted his response and waited for Dream to send his. A second later, it sent.</p><p>
  <em> sorry sap, got stuff to do. tomorrow for sure, tho. </em>
</p><p>Now George sent his <em> no, sleeping </em> and adjusted his position, glad for some reason that Dream had said no, too. Well, actually, lots of people had a fear of missing out. If Dream had said yes, he would have said yes, too, but only because of his FOMO. Yeah.</p><p>His phone bleeped with an incoming snap from Dream. Clicking on it immediately, he saw another picture of Patches. This time, she was curled up in the suitcase amongst Dream’s clothes, atop Dream’s signature smile hoodie, which was folded neatly. The caption read “Perfect. She loves hiding under beds <em> and </em> sleeping in my hoodies, so it’s a win-win.”</p><p>George couldn’t help the goofy smile that crept onto his face. He snapped a picture of his face from above, cushioned by his gray pillows, and typed: “Win-win for sure.” Sending it, George set his phone down and awaited Dream’s response. It came a minute later. Expecting Patches again, George opened it, but this time saw it was a picture of Dream. All of his thoughts flew out of his head when he stared at the torso he recognized from merch pictures. It was a selfie, taken in front of a full-length mirror, of Dream wearing George’s white merch sweater. Though his face wasn’t visible, George could see the base of his slender, pale neck above the neckline of the hoodie, and the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, exposing lean, veiny forearms. It took him a few seconds to actually read the text accompanying the photo. </p><p>“Can’t wait to see you soon. Bet your sweaters are softer than mine ;)”</p><p><em> WHAT? </em> Was Dream insinuating that once he got there they would <em> share sweaters?! </em>George didn’t know how to respond to that. Had he meant it in a flirty way, or just as a joke? He couldn’t tell, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to embarrass himself by answering wrong one way or the other. His frazzled mind couldn’t handle this much in one day, so he decided to just leave it at that and go to sleep. Dream’s many nuances were better understood when one was well-rested, anyway. </p><p>Setting his phone on his nightstand, George burrowed into his blankets and closed his eyes. He had just begun to drift off when his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Groggily, he reached over and picked it up.</p><p>“Hello?”</p><p>“Did I scare you off, Georgie? Not wanna see me anymore?” Dream teased. George rolled his eyes. Of course this clingy bastard called him.</p><p>“Yes, Dream, I never want to see you. Besides, I bet I’m not missing out on much.”</p><p>“Well boohoo, I’m coming anyway. I can promise you, you're missing out on a <em>lot</em>. Better get ready, cause my handsomeness will knock you out of this world<em>,</em>” the other boy bragged.</p><p>George smiled at the cheesy line, but didn't let it distract him. “Shut up, I’m going to sleep.”</p><p>“‘Night, George! Love you, mwah!” Dream copied Sapnap’s smooch from earlier. Making a face, George laughed.</p><p>“Goodnight, Dream. See you soon.” He hung up the call, placed his phone back on the desk, and promptly fell asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know I'm excited for what's to come hehe. Feel free to comment or leave Kudos if you enjoyed! (It really motivates me)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Preparation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dream and George break the news to Sapnap and prepare to finally meet each other.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone, enjoy the chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, George woke up to light streaming in from behind his closed blinds and something warm weighing down his chest. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and saw Tiger resting on his chest. She was curled up right on his t-shirt, under the covers, and had her eyes closed and her head resting on her paws. George smiled softly at her and, slowly, as not to disturb her, reached for his phone. Carefully, he took a picture of her lying on his chest and sent it to Dream on Snapchat. He didn’t know why he felt the need to, only that they had been talking about their cats last night and he wanted to share the sweet moment with him.</p><p>Not wanting to disturb Tiger just yet, George scrolled through his Twitter feed for a few minutes before he got up. He replied to Sapnap’s tweet from last night complaining about George and Dream being lame for not playing Minecraft with him with a “😳”. He giggled at the fact that the single emoji would surely piss off Sapnap. Karl had already replied to the original tweet, saying, “Don’t worry babe I will play with you &lt;3 Those meanies can’t smooch like I do ;)” Sapnap had replied: “thank u karl, they sure are meanies! who needs to third wheel anyway when I have a fiancé like you? 😘” </p><p>George rolled his eyes at the dramatics. Sapnap knew what he was doing, inspiring dozens of “omg dnf confirmed?!!!” tweets under the thread. Sometimes he wondered if the fans knew that one could third wheel in a platonic relationship, too. He knew it was his and Dream’s fault for encouraging them, though, so he couldn’t really complain. As everyone liked to say, the fanfics wrote themselves. Besides, he found he didn’t mind the ship much. The fanart was pretty cool, and it was kind of nice to see how supportive everyone would be if they ever ended up actually dating. It would never happen, though. Both he and Dream were straight, as far as George knew.</p><p>A Twitter notification popped up. Dream had replied to his tweet. George laughed when he saw that he’d used the same emoji George had. He was expecting an annoyed call from Sapnap – once he woke up, of course. That would probably be around five p.m. for George. As much as Sapnap liked to tease him about the amount he slept, the Texan sure loved his sleep, too.</p><p>A Snapchat notification popped up, and he opened it to see that Dream had responded to his picture of Tiger.</p><p>“A cutie on top of a cutie, who would’ve thought?” was the teasing message, over a photo of Patches sleeping on what he assumed was Dream’s clothed torso in a nearly identical position to his own kitten. Ignoring how his heart pounded, George snapped back a picture of him smiling.</p><p>With that exchange, he decided to stop procrastinating starting his day. Sighing, George peeled back the covers and gently picked up Tiger. She blinked sleepily, pawing at him a little in protest.</p><p>“I know, I know,” he apologized, setting her down on the bed beside him before standing up. She cocked her head at him, anticipating breakfast. “Yes, cutie, I’m getting your food. Be patient.” Walking into the kitchen, George retrieved the dry cat food bag from the counter and poured the right amount into Tiger’s small food bowl, which was on the floor in between the fridge and the wall. He saw that her water was almost gone, so as she ate, he walked over to the sink and refilled it. After Tiger was all taken care of, George poured himself some cereal and slid into a stool at the (newly cleared off) kitchen island, checking his phone. Aside from the likes and replies to his reply to Sapnap, George had no notable notifications. He sighed and dug into his cereal, frustrated with how lost he felt. There were always these times, before his friends woke up, when he was bored on his own and had to find something to occupy himself. He knew Dream had replied to his tweet almost immediately, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was up for a voice call. More likely, he was laying in bed scrolling through Twitter instead of actually getting up for the day, like George had been. That left George with a few hours to kill while he waited for his friends to wake up. Sighing, he looked over his to-do list. He might as well complete a few things while he had the time.</p><hr/><p>Hours later, George had accomplished quite a lot and was feeling particularly productive. He’d made up the guest bedroom, vacuumed, cleaned up anywhere he hadn’t already, and then showered. He would save the shopping for a couple days before Dream arrived, but other than that he was pretty sure everything was ready. He felt a flash of excitement, thinking about Dream being <em> here </em>, in his flat. He would finally be able to hug him. </p><p>Bobbing from side to side a little, George sat cross-legged on his bed, anticipating a call from his friends any minute. He knew they were both available, but Sapnap was in the shower, so they were waiting until he was done. He and Dream had talked briefly beforehand and both agreed to break the news to Sapnap today. George was dreading it, already worried that Sapnap would be upset. Of course he would feel left out, but George was hoping that he’d be more excited for them than anything. Sapnap was, like, the number one DNF encourager, other than Dream and George themselves, so hopefully he would be okay with them meeting without him, if only because of the hype from their fans. Just then, his phone rang with an incoming Discord call. Speak of the Devil. His heart pounding with nerves, George joined the call.</p><p>“Hey, Georgie,” Sapnap cooed in greeting. </p><p>“Hello, Sappitus,” George laughed. </p><p>“Hey, guys.”</p><p>“Hey Dreamie-poo,” Sapnap cooed at him the same way he’d greeted George.</p><p>“Shut <em> up </em>, Sapnap,” Dream broke into a laugh.</p><p>“What? I <em> love </em>you, Dream. George, eh, not so much.” Sapnap giggled mischievously.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, okay. Sure you don’t, Sapnap. I think that you love me more than even Dream does,” George teased.</p><p>“Not possible,” Dream chimed in. </p><p>“Oh really?” Sapnap asked knowingly. “Prove it.”</p><p>“Okay… Well… I’m going all the way to London to visit George in a few days,” Dream told him in a rush. The call was silent for a moment while both Dream and George awaited Sapnap’s reply with bated breath. Mentally, George berated Dream for revealing it so abruptly, but he couldn’t really be blamed. It was as good an opportunity as they would probably get.</p><p>“...Oh. Okay! Have fun guys!”</p><p>“Thanks, Sap. I was talking to George the other day after you left the call, and since you and me have already met up and stuff, I just kind of wanted to meet up with him, too. And then one day in the future we can all meet up together!” Dream explained. He sounded nervous even to George, who usually wasn’t the <em> most </em> observant.</p><p>“No, yeah, that sounds great. When is this, again?” Sapnap asked. His voice sounded normal, but knowing Sapnap, what he said and how he said it were often two very different things. For all George knew, he could be sitting at home with tears running down his face. George laughed at the idea. It was pretty far-fetched.</p><p>“Today’s the seventeenth, so… five days,” Dream answered.</p><p>“Cool,” said Sapnap brightly. “I can’t wait to see the height difference!” He giggled.</p><p>“Hey!” George protested, finally participating. “The difference will <em> not </em>be that big, right Dream?”</p><p>“Ehh, I don’t know…” Dream drew out his sentence. “It’s like half a foot, George, you can’t argue with that.”</p><p>“Wear flip flops or something to the airport,” George ordered. “I’ll wear boots and that way we’ll be more even”</p><p>Dream wheezed. “No! I will not do that, George. Maybe in Florida, but where you live it’s, like, forty degrees.”</p><p>“Dreeeeam, please! I will literally PAY you,” George begged. </p><p>Sapnap laughed. “Don’t do it, Dream. Show up in, like, heels or something. That’ll teach him.”</p><p>“Shut up, Sapnap!”</p><p>The Texan laughed.</p><p>“I might just do that, Sapnap. That’ll show you, George. Try to stop the tall people from being tall and they’ll just get even taller,” Dream stated. </p><p>“Yep,” Sapnap agreed. </p><p>George huffed. “You both suck.”</p><p> </p><p>The boys talked until they were all tired, which for George and Dream happened sooner than Sapnap. Bidding each other goodnight, they ended the call. George had every intention of staying up later to discuss the day’s events with Dream, but by the time he fell into bed he found he could barely keep his eyes open. </p><hr/><p>The following days passed agonizingly slowly. The many conversations and streams he made appearances on with his friends did little to pass the time, but finally, <em> finally </em>, it was November twenty-second. Today, he was going to meet Dream.</p><p>That morning, George awoke with the feeling of anticipatory butterflies in his stomach. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. What if things were awkward in person? What if they had nothing to talk about? What if Dream didn’t like him? Or, perhaps worse, what if <em> he </em> didn’t like <em> Dream </em>? Nothing would be quite like the discomfort he would feel if he had to spend the whole trip pretending everything was fine. As he got himself and Tiger breakfast, he got out his phone. Panicking, he texted Sapnap.</p><p>
  <em> What was it like when you hung out with Dream? </em>
</p><p>Biting his thumb anxiously, he saw typing dots appear. </p><p>
  <em> it was normal, i guess. dream’s a lot like how he is on vc. why, you nervous, georgie? getting cold feet? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> …. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> No way. Was it, like, easy? Did you guys have stuff to talk about? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> …  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> i mean, we had awkward moments, sure, but it was fine. look, trust me, dude, i wouldn’t worry about it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ... </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Okay… thanks then. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> ... </em>
</p><p>
  <em> np </em>
</p><p>Why the hell was Sapnap so goddamn unhelpful? All George wanted was reassurance that his time with Dream wouldn’t crash and burn. His phone buzzed. It was Sapnap again.</p><p>
  <em> listen. you need to have more faith in yourself, dude. remember, you guys have known each other for like six years!!! it won’t be as bad as u think. </em>
</p><p>Oh. Well, maybe Sapnap wasn’t so unhelpful after all. He was right. George needed to take a deep breath and calm down. </p><p>Finished with her breakfast and sensing his anxiety, Tiger climbed onto his lap. He smiled down at her as she curled up on his thighs and he ran his fingers through her silky fur. Ears twitching and eyes squinting, she began to purr. Breathing deeply in and out, George thoroughly thought the day through. He would get a taxi, pick up Dream from the airport, and from there the conversation would surely flow. It wasn’t common for George to get worked up about nothing, but the prospect of meeting his long-distance best friend for the first time <em> ever </em> stressed him out. A nagging voice at the back of his mind told him that if it had been Sapnap he was meeting, he wouldn’t be worrying nearly this much, but he did his best to ignore it.</p><p>He checked the time on his phone and saw that it was nearly twelve-thirty in the afternoon. Dream’s flight was scheduled to land an hour from now, so he needed to get moving. He’d talked briefly to Dream before he boarded the plane, but not much. He’d asked how he would be able to identify the young man, and Dream had jokingly replied, “I’ll be the handsomest guy there, of course.”</p><p>George had scowled and called him an idiot for being almost Sapnap-level unhelpful. Dream had laughed, but didn’t elaborate. George had made him promise to tell him what carousel his baggage would be at once he landed, and Dream had, thankfully.</p><p>As George called to order the taxi and got ready, he distracted himself with thoughts of what he and Dream would actually <em> do </em>once he got to London. He knew of a great outdoor ice rink near his flat, where he’d skated with his friends in university. The weather had been exceptionally cold recently, and usually the rink was always frozen at this time anyway. George laughed at the idea that Dream probably didn’t even know how to skate, and he was excited, if that was the case, to teach him. Opening his Notes app, he started a list, including skating as the first bullet point. Next came going out for dinner, and then cooking a meal at home, because that could be just as fun. Satisfied with the list of possible activities for now, George checked his phone to see that the taxi was here. </p><p>Grabbing his coat and keys, George said goodbye to Tiger and strode out of his flat, locking the door behind him.</p><p>When he got outside, the taxi was indeed waiting for him, and George greeted the driver as he slid into the backseat. George let her know the destination and sat back into the leather seat, staring out the window as the car started moving. He was painfully aware of the shrinking distance between him and Dream, felt it physically, as if there were an invisible string tying them together that worked in reverse, pulling taut instead of looser as the miles apart grew smaller. George ran a hand through his hair, still somewhat damp from his shower, and let his head loll back against the headrest as he watched the cars blur past. He opened his notifications to see a message from Sapnap in their Snapchat group chat, saying <em> good luck! can’t wait to see you two cuties together! </em></p><p>George rolled his eyes and typed out a reply. <em> Can’t wait to see Dream’s ugly face with me, more like. </em></p><p><em> actually, that’s not what i said at all, loser. smh, </em>Sapnap replied right away. Shaking his head, George ignored him for the time being.</p><p> </p><p>Twenty minutes later, he was at the airport and Dream’s flight had landed early. The Floridian had texted him the second he landed, and George figured that if anyone’s flight came early, of course it would be Dream’s. It just made that much sense. No delayed plane rides for him, the renowned speedrunner. George smiled fondly. </p><p>Getting out of the taxi, he made sure the driver would wait for him, then made his way into the building. Dream would be at Carousel A, as he’d texted George earlier, so he checked the signs throughout the airport on his way there to make sure he was headed in the right direction. His nervous butterflies were back in full swing, making him feel dizzy and excited.</p><p>His Yeezys squeaked on the polished floor of the Airport hallway, and George cringed. He didn’t wear them often, but he’d chosen the tallest heeled shoes he owned. He knew that it didn’t matter; Dream would be taller than him no matter what. If they were careful and played everything right, they’d be in and out of the airport before anyone could recognize George, so he didn’t really know what embarrassment he thought he was saving himself from. Probably just rescuing his pride.</p><p>Approaching the carpeted carousel area, George kept his eyes down and hung on the outskirts of the people waiting to pick up their luggage, quickly texting Dream.</p><p>
  <em> Are you at the carousel yet? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> …  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> yeah, just picked up my suitcase. u here? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Yes. </em>
</p><p>George’s heart pounded. Dream was officially in the same room as him. The only thing he had left to do was spot him. Looking up, George glanced in the direction of Carousel A, which was on his left. He saw young people, old people, and people around his age, but no one that he suspected of being Dream. He slipped through the crowd and closer to the actual carousel, but still saw no sign of Dream. Biting his lip in panic, he checked his phone to see an unread message from Dream.</p><p>
  <em> my bad, i’m actually at carousel c. </em>
</p><p><em> Oh my god </em> , he thought, exasperated. <em> Of course </em>. Whipping his head around, George headed back over to Carousel C, which was on the right of Carousel B, where he’d been before. His palms started to sweat and he quickly wiped them on his jeans. It was getting too hot for his blue and white varsity jacket (he had not actually been on any varsity sports teams), but he kept it on so he wouldn't have to hold it. It may have been ridiculous, but he didn't care.</p><p>After a few seconds, George arrived at Carousel C. He bounced around the edges of the crowd, then spotted a tall, gangly man standing amidst the swarms of people and stopped. He knew, without a doubt, that it was Dream — because, even from a distance, he was the most good-looking man he’d ever seen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, thank you for reading! The next chapter is where things start to get good ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dream and George meet in person and play some Minecraft.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi all! Hope you enjoy this one! It's a little longer than the others ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The man had dirty blond hair that appeared almost brown until he turned. Then, it caught the sunlight streaming in through a skylight and shone golden. George’s gaze landed on the man’s outfit, saw the two dots and lopsided smile on the yellowish hoodie he wore, and it was only cemented that the man was Dream. Furtively glancing around to make sure he didn’t spot any looks of recognition, George slipped through the crowd, directly to Dream’s side. The other man startled, turning to meet George’s gaze. </p><p>Finally, they stared at each other face to face. And oh, God.</p><p>“Hi,” Dream said. </p><p>George blanked. He was currently incapable of forming words, so he said nothing in reply. He was vaguely aware of the fact that his mouth hung slightly open, that Dream was staring at him with an increasingly both confused and amused expression, and that he <em> definitely </em> looked like an idiot. He didn’t care, though, because he was too busy trying to process just how hot his best friend was. </p><p>He had high, sturdy cheekbones, full pink lips, and stood over half a foot taller than George. He scowled when his gaze landed on Dream’s shoes, which were black leather platform boots, giving him probably three or more extra inches on George. He would have been annoyed if he wasn’t so entranced. </p><p>Dream’s — Clay’s — eyes were green, he knew, and even though they should have looked dull and muted to him, as most colours were, they didn’t. They looked almost like a light brown, clear and caramel-coloured, and the effect was gorgeous. His eyes were framed by long dark lashes that blinked at George. It was then that he realized he should probably blink himself, and the thought brought him back to the present.</p><p>“H-Hello” he stammered. At that, Clay bent over and gave his iconic wheeze, but it was ten times better in person. </p><p>“What?! I fly thousands of miles to get here, and you stare at me for, like, five minutes and then stammer a <em> hello </em>?!” The boy dissolved into laughter again. George blinked at him for a beat, then grinned. “Well, I told you I’m handsome. Looks like my gorgeousness struck you speechless. Don’t worry, this isn’t the first time this has happened,” Dream cockily reassured him. George rolled his eyes, but not before he blushed tomato red. </p><p>“Shut up, Dream. It’s just so… surreal to see you, in person.” Glancing down, George saw that Dream only held one suitcase with a slender hand, presumably the one from the Snapchat he’d sent to George. Noticing the lack of a carry-on, animal crate or otherwise, George said,</p><p>“I hope you didn’t <em> actually </em> manage to sneak Patches in there. I can’t speak for Florida, but I’m <em> pretty </em> sure that’s illegal here in London.”</p><p>Dream laughed. “No, don’t worry. Besides, she’d probably shred her way out even if I did somehow manage to do everything else successfully. But yeah, no, my mom offered to take care of her while I was gone, so I left her in good hands.”</p><p>“Oh, good,” George replied with a smile.</p><p>“Yep,” Dream grinned. They stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Dream raised an eyebrow. George didn’t react. He’d realized that he really wanted to hug Dream, but it had been too long since they’d first seen each other, and now it would just be awkward. Ugh, he should have just <em> greeted </em> him with a hug. It was too late now!</p><p>No, you know what, fuck it. </p><p>George stepped forward and threw his arms around Dream’s torso, resting his head against Dream’s shoulder. His forearms touched the boy’s leanly muscled back. </p><p>Dream let out a breath of surprise, dropping his suitcase, then quickly relaxed into the hug. He wrapped his arms around George and squeezed him tight, nearly lifting him off the ground.</p><p>“Okay, okay, Dream,” George laughed softly. Dream set him down but didn’t let go. George melted into his embrace, burrowing his head into his chest, right next to his heart. </p><p>He could feel Dream’s heartbeat under his body, steady and strong. Dream tucked his bony chin on top of George’s head, and even though it was a clear display of his height, George didn’t mind it. He felt so <em> warm, </em> safe in his friend’s arms. He was so grateful that they got to do this, that he was finally hugging Clay, whom he’d known for <em> years </em> and never even seen. It had killed him to know that Sapnap had seen what Dream looked like, had been able to actually put a face to his best friend, and George couldn’t. Now, he was happier than he could ever recall being. </p><p>Not much would change in terms of their friendship, he knew, but being able to go out and do real-life activities with Dream, generally just getting to enjoy his company, was better than anything they did online.</p><p>After a second, they let go. </p><p>The hustle and bustle of the airport around them came back into focus, and George gestured towards Dream’s suitcase.</p><p>“Shall we?”</p><p>“Lead the way, Captain,” Dream said with a mock salute. George shook his head at him and started walking away in the direction of the exit. From behind him, he heard a click and then the roll of wheels along the carpet. A second later, Dream easily caught up to him with his freakishly long legs.</p><p>George looked up at him and smiled. He felt like he couldn’t stop doing that, smiling. It was just so surreal.</p><p>“What?” Dream asked with a smile. </p><p>“I just can’t believe you’re <em> actually </em> here,” George marvelled. Dream laughed.</p><p>“I know, right? It’s so weird. And you definitely look taller on camera.” He cracked a shit-eating grin.</p><p>George shoved his shoulder, choosing to ignore the fact that he had to reach up a little to do it.</p><hr/><p>“So, what do you have planned?” Dream asked as they loaded his suitcase into the trunk and slid into the taxi.</p><p>“What do you want to do? Aren’t you tired from the flight? It was pretty early for you.”</p><p>The driver pulled out of the airport lot and started on its route to George’s flat.</p><p>“Not <em> that </em> tired,” Dream insisted. “I want to experience all London has to offer. Teach me, Georgie! Teach me your British ways!” He pleaded dramatically. George rolled his eyes, but grinned at him – he couldn’t help it.</p><p>“Okay, if that’s what you really want.”</p><p>“Oh, it is,” Dream assured him. </p><hr/><p>Once they got back to George’s flat, he showed Dream the guest bedroom and left him to unpack and have a shower. </p><p>As he sat at the kitchen counter, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly, George heard Dream singing in the shower; some sort of pop song. He smiled to himself, making a note to tease Dream about it later. It was kind of exciting, thinking of all the quirks he would discover about Dream while they lived together. It was also a little anxiety-inducing thinking of it the other way around, too. George hadn’t lived with anyone since he was in uni, and that was years ago.</p><p>A little while later, he heard the shower stop, the clatter of Dream getting ready, and then the bathroom door opened. George swivelled in his chair as Dream emerged fully-clothed, cheeks flushed and hair wet, a towel slung around his broad shoulders. The ends of his shaggy hair dripped onto the towel, and Dream walked over to George, a mischievous grin on his lips. A warning went off in George’s head, but too late. Once Dream got close, he dipped his head and shook it towards George like a wet dog, spraying him with droplets. George yelped and hopped off the chair, backing away.</p><p>“Dream! Stop it!”</p><p>The other man laughed, straightening up. “What, you didn’t need refreshing?”</p><p>“What the hell, Clay! You’re like a dog,” George laughed.</p><p>Chuckling, Dream walked into the guest bedroom. George eyed the droplets left all over by Dream’s hair warily before taking a seat in a different chair. Faintly, he heard Dream opening and closing drawers in the guest room as he unpacked. </p><p>Opening Discord, he checked to see who was online. Sapnap, BadBoyHalo, and Awesamdude were together in a voice chat, so George joined just to see what they were up to.</p><p>“Hi George!” Bad chirped.</p><p>“Hello, George,” drawled Sam in his deep voice.</p><p>“What’s up, Gogy,” greeted Sapnap.</p><p>“Hey, guys,” George answered. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Sam is helping me build something on the SMP. I actually don’t know what Sapnap’s doing,” Bad answered. “Sapnap, what <em> are </em> you doing?”</p><p>“None of your beeswax what I’m doing, Bad. Don’t worry about it,” Sapnap replied matter-of-factly.</p><p>“Okay then,” said Sam, chuckling a bit.</p><p>“Gog, join the server,” ordered Sapnap. George sighed. He didn’t really feel like booting up his PC right now. He’d rather relax and wait for Dream to come out.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Oh, George, didn’t Dream get there today? Is he with you?”</p><p>“Riiiight, I forgot you guys were meeting up! Was that today?” Sam asked.</p><p>“Yeah, it was,” George answered. “He’s here, just unpacking. I’ll get him.” Sliding off the chair, George made his way to Dream’s room. Knocking on the cracked-open door and hearing no reply, he pushed it open and walked in.</p><p>Dream’s suitcase lay open on the floor, clothes still in it, and Dream himself was splayed out on top of the guest bed, asleep. It looked like he had been in the middle of unpacking when he’d succumbed to the jet lag. Every breath, a loud snore exited his nose, and George nearly snorted with laughter. He knew that Dream snored, from their sleep calls, but hearing it in person made it much funnier. Quietly stepping back into the tiny hallway, he eased the door shut and returned to the counter.</p><p>“Sorry, guys, Dream’s asleep. Looks like the jet lag got to him,” he informed the others.</p><p>“Aww, that’s fine. Tell him I say hi when he wakes up, okay?” Bad requested.</p><p>“Alright,” George agreed.</p><p>“Do you want to join the SMP later? Me, Skeppy, Sam, and Antfrost are doing a minigames thing; that’s what me and Sam are building right now.”</p><p>“Probably,” George answered. “I’ll let you know. I’m going to leave for now, though. I just wanted to see what you all were up to.”</p><p>“See ya,” Sam said.</p><p>“Talk to you later!” Bad bade him farewell. Sapnap said nothing.</p><p>Hanging up the call, George decided to continue watching <em> Sherlock, </em>a TV show he’d recently gotten into, while he waited for Dream to wake up.</p><hr/><p>A few hours later, when it was close to suppertime, Dream finally emerged from his room, cheeks flushed and bleary-eyed from sleep. George looked up from where he sat on the couch, still watching TV.</p><p>“Welcome back,” he joked. Dream made a muffled noise in reply and shuffled over to the fridge, where he grabbed the cold water pitcher.</p><p>“Where are your glasses?” He mumbled.</p><p>“Third cupboard on the left of the fridge,” George answered, stifling a laugh. Clay was clearly not a morning person. As he filled his water, Dream ran a hand through his mussed hair in an attempt to fix it. It had dried flat, and he was clearly trying to add some volume back. George touched his own hair, cropped and gelled. There was nothing wrong with being well-groomed, but George sometimes wished he could pull off longer hair like Dream. Unfortunately, his hair just didn’t grow that way.</p><p>Dream was gulping down the glass of water like it was the first he’d had in days. George paused his show and got up, joining Dream at the island.</p><p>“So… You slept through most of the day. That means we probably won’t be able to do much in terms of activities,” George stated. “We’ll save going out for dinner for a day where you’ve gotten adjusted a little more.”</p><p>Dream nodded, pouring himself more water before returning the pitcher to the fridge. “So, what did you have in mind?”</p><p>“Well, Bad invited us to join him, Sam, Skeppy, and Ant’s minigame thing on the SMP tonight. I was thinking of streaming it. Want to join?”</p><p>“Sure,” Dream answered. “I brought my old computer with me, so I could play some Minecraft. My full setup would be kind of hard to bring on a plane,” he smiled, “plus, I wouldn’t risk it anyway.”</p><p>“Right. So, I bought some stuff for supper, and then after that we can hop on the server.”</p><p>“Sounds good.”</p><hr/><p>After the boys enjoyed a supper of mediocre spaghetti (George was a horrible cook and refused to let Dream help, though he offered multiple times), they both logged onto the Dream SMP from their respective rooms. George started streaming, getting the Dream stuff out of the way first.</p><p>“Yes, Dream is here, but he’s in another room. So, you might hear him if he’s loud!” George raised his voice at the last part, hearing Dream chuckle in response from the guest room across the hall.</p><p>“Don’t worry, George, I’ll scream as loud as I can! AHHHH!”</p><p>George grinned and eyed his chat, watching all of the emotes and exclamations fly by. He answered a few questions as they came in before he started. “Yes, Dream actually snores like a <em> bear </em>!” He giggled in response to a donation asking if Dream snored. </p><p>“Hey! I do not snore that loud!” Dream protested.</p><p>“Yes, you do,” he replied. “I heard you earlier, don’t even <em> try </em> to deny it. Chat, I will not be taking any more questions.” </p><p>He and Dream had convinced Sapnap to join the server as well, so they all joined VC together.</p><p>“Do you guys wanna swerve the minigames? I kinda don’t want to do it,” Sapnap complained immediately.</p><p>“Sapnap! You already agreed to,” Dream protested. “Let’s play at least one, and then maybe do our own thing, okay?”</p><p>“Okay,” Sapnap sulkily agreed. George rolled his eyes at his webcam. Sapnap was such a baby.</p><hr/><p>“Come on, Gogy. You love me, we all know it,” Sapnap insisted, his Minecraft character crouching up and down in front of George.</p><p>The three of them had participated in a few minigames, one involving a trident race that George had won, and then joined a separate VC. The minigames were more fun than George had expected, and despite Sapnap’s complaining, he warmed up to them once he’d won the very first game they played. It ended up being the <em> only </em> game he won, and he was sulky after, which is why they’d left so quickly.</p><p>George wasn’t quite sure what they were doing now, but they’d travelled to a different section of the SMP.</p><p>George rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, then glanced at his webcam, grinning for his seventy-something thousand viewers.</p><p>“You heard it here first, guys, I love Sapnap and <em> not </em> Dream,” he said in his ‘YouTube intro’ voice. “Stick around to see what happens. Will Dream seduce me? Or will I run off into the sunset with Sapnap?”</p><p>“Se<em> duce </em> you,” Dream repeated. “Okay, George. Kinda thought I’d already done that with my striking looks and devilish charm, but I guess not,” he said fake-sadly.</p><p>George and Sapnap dissolved into giggles while Dream’s vaguely peach-coloured character crouched and looked down dejectedly beside Sapnap. The chat flew by, spamming “Awwww!”</p><p>“He’s farming <em> awwws </em>!” Sapnap cried out. “Dream’s out ‘da gang. I don’t make the rules,” he said, like ‘what can you do?’</p><p>“Shut <em> up, </em>Sapnap,” Dream chuckled. “I’m not ‘out of the gang’! I refuse to leave it unless George says he loves me,” he bartered in a sudden turn. Sapnap’s avatar turned, punching Dream’s with his bare hand.</p><p>“That’s not how the gang works, you nimrod.” The Karl lingo Sapnap frequently used was endearing, and George was inclined to agree with this particular sentence.</p><p>“He’s right, Dream. I won’t say I – ‘L-word’ you, and you’re still out ‘the gang.”</p><p>“Fine.” Dream stopped talking after that. Chat continued to “awwww” and George and Sapnap snickered. </p><p>“Dream, stop it. Come get me!” Running over to Dream’s character, George hit him once and then ran away with a manic laugh, F5-ing to make sure he was following. Thankfully, Dream seemed to have had enough of milking the chat and had given chase. After a few seconds, Sapnap joined in, and the boys took turns killing each other.</p><p> </p><p>A while later, George glanced at the time: two in the morning. He had to stream late to cater towards his majority American audience and get Dream and Sapnap to join him, but this was a little too late, considering the events of today. </p><p>“Speaking of,” though he hadn’t been, “I’m going to end the stream.”</p><p>“Nooo, Gogy, don’t leave us!” Sapnap whined, crouching again and hitting at him. Chat agreed, spamming “NOOOO!”</p><p>Sapnap was a sucker for pandering – though George could admit that, at least during Jackbox, <em> he </em> was the king of it.</p><p>"I don't care; I'm leaving," he stated. Sapnap continued hitting him, and he hopped away to avoid being killed.</p><p>“George…” Dream trailed off. </p><p>“Yes, Dream?” George waited expectantly.</p><p>“Love you!” Dream blurted out, and promptly left the call, but not before he burst into a wheezing laugh that George could hear through the walls. He laughed in disbelief.</p><p>“What? What just happened?” He shook his head while Sapnap giggled. “All right, that’s enough for tonight. Bye Sapnap!”</p><p>“‘Night, cutie,” Sapnap teased before disconnecting.</p><p>A commotion from his doorway distracted George as he transitioned to his starting screen, enlarging his facecam. Dream was there, in the doorway to his room.</p><p>“What are you doing?” He asked, glancing towards his webcam and back to Dream. Dream smirked. </p><p>“Well, I figured I’d say goodnight to everyone with you, <em> in person </em>.”</p><p>Chat went berserk, spamming DREAM FACE REVEAL?! And YES YES YES DNF CONTENT IRL.</p><p>George sighed, then agreed. “Alright. What will you do about the camera? I doubt you’d want me to get the clout from your accidental face reveal.” </p><p>Dream grinned devilishly at him. “I’ll just stand behind you,” he said. “I’m so much taller than you that if I prop myself up on the back of your chair, my head will be completely out of frame.” George rolled his eyes at the not-so-subtle height flex. “Alright, if you say so. Maybe you should get a mask or something, just to be safe. I think I have some on my dresser.” Dream hummed in agreement, exiting the room. George wondered what he was doing, after he’d told him the masks were <em> literally </em> in his room, then reminded himself that he was streaming and needed to focus on the matter at hand. He resumed his position, taking no stock of the chat, and stalled for time. Reopening Minecraft, George loaded a new world and started casually speed running.</p><p>“Well, guys, looks like you got lucky. What is Dream doing? I don’t know…” he exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders. A few minutes later, his door opened again and Dream walked in. Out of his peripheral, George could see the outfit he’d been wearing before (blue jeans and his signature smile hoodie – apparently he’d brought multiple), but with a strange white blob where his face was. Pausing the game, George swivelled his chair slightly to face him and promptly burst into laughter.</p><p>“Dream! You look ridiculous,” he cackled. Dream had scavenged a paper plate from somewhere, stabbed two eye holes in it, and drawn on a smile with black Sharpie. There were holes stabbed in either side with an elastic band looped through, which held the mask to his head. The overall effect was both hilarious and a little frightening.</p><p>“Come show the stream,” George encouraged. He couldn’t see Dream’s expression, but he shook his head. </p><p>“Last resort, remember?” His voice sounded muffled, obscured by the thick paper. Walking over, Dream passed in front of George’s green screen, coming to a stop behind his chair. He rested his forearms on the headrest above George’s head, and leaned down to see the monitor better, his chin and the edge of the paper plate just brushing George’s hair. His closeness made George flustered, as he was aware of <em> every </em> movement Dream made, but he was determined not to blush on stream in front of over seventy thousand people.</p><p>“Guys, right now, Dream is standing here with a <em> paper plate mask </em> covering his face,” George gasped out through a laugh. Chat was LMAO-ing and such, and Dream chuckled.</p><p>“Goodnight everyone! Hope you enjoyed George’s stream!”</p><p>“Bye! Don’t forget to subscribe now if you don’t want me to miss it!” He read out a few of the donos still coming in before truly ending. “Byeeeee, bye bye bye bye byeeee!” They waved for a few seconds before going offline. Sighing, he relaxed his posture and pushed the chair farther back from his desk, gathering Tiger onto his lap from where she’d sat by his desk’s leg.</p><p>“So, that was fun,” he started.</p><p>“Yeah! It’s nice being able to just come in here and freak out your chat,” Dream grinned.</p><p>“Ha, yeah.” Yawning, George got up to stretch, placing his kitten on the floor, where she ran under his bed and curled up. Though he wished to follow her lead and curl up in his own bed, he also wanted to talk to Dream.</p><p>“How would you rate your first day in London out of ten?” George asked him, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms. “I know it wasn’t very exciting, but I hope it wasn’t awful.” Dream pulled the mask off his face and set it on the edge of George’s desk.</p><p>“It was good! I’d rate it a perfect ten-out-of-ten,” he said. George raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Really? I think that’s a bit generous.”</p><p>“Eh, not really,” Dream smiled sweetly. “I got to spend it with you.”</p><p>“Ha-ha,” George snarked back. His tired brain felt cloudy, too cloudy to properly react to the flirty comment. He was glad – if it was up to speed, he would have blushed, or gotten butterflies, or something else embarrassing.</p><p>George let out another yawn. “Do you want to do anything else? Talk for a while?”</p><p>Dream started laughing. “George, you can barely keep your eyes open! You’re asking me if I want to do something?!”</p><p>“Whatever,” George mumbled.</p><p>“I’m gonna let you get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning, okay? Get in bed.” Dream’s green eyes danced as he looked at George, and a smile still lifted his lips. He didn’t think it was that funny, but whatever.</p><p>“Okay,” he mumbled sleepily. Stumbling over to his bed, he crawled on and under the covers, not bothering to change. He turned over to face Dream, still standing at the end of the bed. Dream moved to the door, preparing to leave. </p><p>“Goodnight, Dream. I’m glad you’re here.”</p><p>“Goodnight, George,” Dream smiled. “I’m glad I’m here, too.” As Dream flipped off the light and closed his door, returning to his own room, George’s eyes drifted shut.</p><p>He fell asleep content, knowing that Dream was right across the hall.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Once again, thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. The scene where Dream puts on a paper plate mask was inspired by a scene from Closing the Distance by Zairielon, here on AO3! I highly recommend it, I LOVED the fic. As always, feel free to leave comments and/or Kudos!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dream has a nightmare, Sapnap's a supposed wingman, and George is just George.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys! This is a pretty chill chapter, I've been busy with school and stuff :/ but I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Dream</b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was laying on the soft Florida sand, beach towel spread out at the very edge of the water. George was sleeping in his arms, tucked against his side. Waves lapped gently at their toes, and the moonlight bathed the waterfront in a silver glow. George’s body fit perfectly around Dream’s, like it had been molded for the express purpose of curling into him just right. The breaking waves and rustling palm trees created a quiet symphony, and Dream drew idle circles with curled fingers on the exposed skin of George’s shoulder. The other man sighed and nuzzled closer, tucking his head against Dream’s chest. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He felt like he could drift off, utterly content. Everything was so peaceful. He had George’s warm body curled against him, could smell his minty shampoo, and Dream never wanted to leave. It was perfect – almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>too</span>
  <em>
    <span> perfect. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then the dream changed – unsurprising, considering this was </span>
  </em>
  <span>his</span>
  <em>
    <span> mind, after all. The previously clear starry night sky clouded over with churning storm clouds. The calm water roiled, turning frothy. Waves crashed violently onto the sand, spraying them with foul-smelling seawater. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Propping himself onto his elbows, slowly as not to wake George, Dream spotted strange, bony creatures in the water. They looked akin to mermaids, if mermaids had spiked teeth, feet, and skin along the lines of an amphibian’s. Inhuman.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Heart pounding, Dream grabbed for George, shaking him awake. Only, George wasn’t waking up. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What? Why the hell isn’t he waking up? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dream thought in panic. Quickly, he gathered George into his arms with ease, bridal-style. The shorter man didn’t move. Where he had breathed deeply mere seconds ago, his chest was now unmoving, his skin a pale bluish colour.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tears welled in Dream’s eyes, and his chest seized. His heart stuttered, and fear struck him like lightning.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No. George </span>
  </em>
  <span>had</span>
  <em>
    <span> to be okay.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Staring out at the water, Dream saw more and more of those creatures converging. Some stood just feet away, already ascending out of the water. Their gazes were locked tight on George’s still figure.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>No</span>
  <em>
    <span>. He tried to run backwards, but he ended up staggering, his feet moving slow as molasses. Of course. Despite what he’d named himself, Dream sometimes hated dreams.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The creatures made their way out of the water, webbed claws reaching for George.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can’t have him!” Dream yelled. Terror pumped through his veins along with adrenaline. They paid him no heed, approaching nearer and nearer. The first one was there. Up close, they were even more terrifying. Instead of eyes, they had burning black pits where the eyeballs should be. Dream felt sweat drip down his face. He held George tighter, pressing him against his chest.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The creature grasped his forearm with a shockingly cold, slimy hand, and Dream recoiled. Or, he would have, but he was unable to move.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ll have to let him go soon,” the thing hissed. “You know you will. He’s better off with us.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream stood there, unable to do anything but watch as the creature took George from his arms and brought him back into the ocean. The rest of the creatures converged around them, disappearing under the water. One glanced back and met Dream’s eyes with a knowing look before diving under and disappearing like the rest of them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Their beach towel lay twisted in the sand, abandoned. The night was no longer peaceful.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>George was gone.</span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Dream jerked awake, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. He felt like he was burning alive, and each time his heart pounded, it felt like he was being stabbed with an icicle, burning hot and cold at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>George was gone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, his thoughts were coherent enough that he managed to lurch to his phone. He unlocked it and found George’s contact, pressing the call button with shaking fingers. He almost dropped the phone more than once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trembled as the call rang out, once, twice, five times. A sinking feeling hit him when he was met with George’s voicemail. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>George was gone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Frantically, he dialled again. This time, it only rang three times before George picked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong? Another anxiety attack?” The raw concern in his friend’s sleepy voice soothed and agitated a part of Dream’s soul at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>George was safe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not exactly,” he answered, evading the question. “I just —“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—Needed to hear my voice?” George finished wryly. Dream managed a small smile, though he knew George couldn’t see him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know we’re in the same house, right? You can just ask me to come to your room. If you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow, his sleep-muddled brain had forgotten that fact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he lied, “but this way’s easier. Plus, I wanted to let you go right back to sleep. I’m just… making sure you’re still here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream felt all shaky still; he worried his voice was trembling enough for George to notice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you’re okay, Dream? Do you want me to come across the hall?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Dream had been his usual self, he would have cracked a joke at that, but this wasn’t the time. All he could think about was how terrified he’d been that George was gone, and was never coming back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-Yes,” he stammered quietly. Maybe feeling George’s presence near him, even for a little while, would help.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. I’ll be right there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hung up the call and checked the time. Five in the morning, so around midnight back home. His sleep schedule was fucked… and George was coming to his room. What had he done? A moment of foolish weakness would now result in closeness Dream wasn’t sure he was ready for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d known when he asked George to visit that it was probably a bad idea. Letting the British man into his life, to see where he slept and </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived </span>
  </em>
  <span>seemed so… intimate. And now, being in George’s apartment, he’d been right. It was intimate, to an extent. Living with someone, even for a day, as they had, one sees their inner workings, pet peeves and quirks and hobbies outside of streaming. Dream wanted to know all of George’s. Even being in George’s room earlier, Dream had had to constantly remind himself not to poke around, both because they were on stream and because, well, that was something he’d learned from experience that not a lot of people would tolerate. He knew George would let him poke around if he wanted, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>mind</span>
  </em>
  <span> it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back to the situation at hand. George would be coming in any second, and Dream would have to pretend that he wasn’t in love with him. He hadn’t been prepared for vulnerable moments like this </span>
  <em>
    <span>in person.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Breaking down to George over the phone worked because there were no obligations. No obligation to hug, no obligation to discuss it any further later on, because it was a phone call in the middle of the night. That’s what nights were for, after all – saying things you wouldn’t necessarily say in the harsh and all-too-real light of day. Nights held a certain surreal quality that made it seem like you could do or say anything in the world without consequences – a feeling that was perhaps taken advantage of too often. Phone calls meant that all Dream had to do was monitor his speech, not his expressions. Here, he was worried that it would be far too easy to slip up and give away something he wasn’t necessarily ready to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clay?” George was outside the door. Dream could see the shadows of his feet on the floor under the gap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come in,” he mumbled. The door clicked open, and George appeared. He wore a white tank top and checkered boxers, and paused for a second before stepping inside. The door clicked shut, leaving the room in darkness and charged silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though he had just spoken to him, seeing George brought an overwhelming onslaught of relief, worry, and fondness all together. Dream felt his eyes well up with tears, unbidden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The minimal light filtering in from around the blinds just barely allowed Dream to see the worry on George’s face as he took in Dream’s state.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lay twisted in his sheets, half of them thrown off, and he was sure he was flushed and wretched-looking. He could feel his sweat-soaked hair sticking to his forehead and neck, but he didn’t care. Right now, all Dream cared about was that George was here. Alive, safe, and right in front of his eyes. He longed to feel his warm body; wondered if it would feel the same against his as it had in the dream-turned-nightmare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clay…” George repeated softly. That was the final straw. The dam broke, and tears came flooding down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“George,” he sobbed. George rushed to his side, seeming to forget his apprehension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knelt at the edge of the bed and embraced Dream in an awkward slanted hug, considering Dream was still laying down. Dream turned towards him, wrapping his arms around George’s slender shoulders like a lifeline. He let shaking sobs take over, aware he was probably confusing George, who still didn’t know exactly what had him so distraught.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m sorry,” he hiccupped through tears, “I’m getting snot all over your tank top.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>George snorted softly, rubbing his back. “Don’t worry about it. I sleep in it for a reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed there for a moment, Dream clinging on to George and George rubbing circles onto his back comfortingly, like Dream’s mother had done when he was sick as a kid. It had been so long since Dream had given in to his emotions and had a good cry, and he let the flood of feelings sweep him away. He wasn’t too far gone to appreciate the warmth George provided, or the feeling that everything was going to be okay, as long as George was touching him. Right now, though, he set aside his pining for once and was grateful for the fact that he had a friend as amazing as George, one who would hold him when he had awoken in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a while, George whispered, “Do you want to talk about it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Dream whispered back, voice hoarse. “Not right now.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not yet – maybe not ever.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>George pulled back, and Dream instinctively reached out in protest. George smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving,” he said. “Just getting more comfortable.” He sat back on his heels and stood, scanning the room for a chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you lay in bed with me?” Dream offered. He pasted on a sly grin, but inside he was desperately hoping George would agree. Dream needed comfort right now, and he wanted George as close to him as he’d been in that god-awful dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>George’s gaze snapped to his own in surprise. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, so we can both get some sleep? Come on, George, don’t tell me you’ve never </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span> thought of sleeping with me,” Dream smirked, trying to lighten the mood. George scoffed, then paused, deliberating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p><em><span>Okay?</span></em> <em><span>Damn</span></em><span>. To be honest, he hadn’t expected George to agree. He’d hoped, but knowing George, he didn’t count on it.</span></p><p>
  <span>Dream scooched himself over so that he was almost falling off the edge of the double bed to make room for George. He knew the Brit wasn’t very comfortable with intimacy, so he tried to give him as much distance as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, George walked over and climbed in on the other side of the bed. Dream stiffened, hyper aware of every move George made, and how close he now was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bed creaked as George scooted closer, pulling the covers over him. He turned onto his side with a sigh, and Dream turned over to face him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you need, Dream?” George asked in a whisper.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What did he need? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dream wasn’t quite sure. He needed George, of course, but not in the way he had him now. He needed – he needed sleep, probably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I need to go back to sleep.” George didn’t know that when Dream woke up, he couldn’t fall back asleep again. He just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have George so close, even if he couldn’t do what he truly wanted to with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. I can leave,” George assured him, starting to get up. Dream reached out a hand and grasped his arm lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay? Please,” he asked. He wasn’t used to being so vulnerable, but he didn’t have it in him to pretend to be okay right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” George agreed after a second, slowly laying back down. Dream’s heartbeat steadied in relief. He wouldn’t be alone tonight; he wouldn’t need to worry about George as long as he was right there with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight George,” he whispered. George stared at him with big brown eyes, visible now that Dream’s vision had adjusted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Clay,” he murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream moved so he lay on his back and closed his eyes, though he knew sleep was impossible. He could never fall asleep again after he’d already woken up, let alone with George </span>
  <em>
    <span>this close</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Every nerve in his body was buzzing; his entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>being</span>
  </em>
  <span> was on edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream swallowed and stared at the ceiling for an undetermined amount of time, until he heard George’s breathing even out and become deeper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened his mouth, prepared to ask if George was awake, when suddenly the other man moved. Dream lay there, frozen, as George’s small hands reached out to wrap around his right arm, as if it were a skinny teddy bear. George shifted closer, his warm body almost directly against Dream’s, his nose nuzzling into Dream’s shoulder. He let out a sleepy sigh, done moving. His breathing was still deep and even, and now Dream could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. His chest rose and fell, brushing against Dream’s side.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Holy shit, WHAT?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>George had moved in his sleep to hug Dream. His arm, sure, but that was still a part of him. And his face was against his shoulder… There was absolutely no way Dream could get to sleep now.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When Dream blinked his eyes open again, it was morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I guess I did fall asleep, after all,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he remembered the circumstances of the night before, and the warm body next to him. His eyes opened wide and, slowly, he lifted his head off the pillow, propping himself up on his elbows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>George was still asleep, his dark lashes brushing high cheekbones. His cheeks were flushed a rosy pink, and his mouth hung slightly open, dried drool crusting the corner. Dream thought it was cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point in the night, the little contact between them – George’s hands hugging his arm – had progressed. Now, George was full on cuddling him, slender arms resting across Dream’s chest and stomach, chest pressed fully against his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream couldn’t lie: he loved it. It felt like a glimpse into his ideal future: falling asleep with George in his arms, waking up next to him, discovering every last thing about him and loving every bit of it. Of course, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> lie in his future if he could work up the damn courage to a) come out to him and b) confess his feelings. Although, part of the reason why he was hesitant to tell George how he felt was because he knew how the other boy would take it. George was already shy about verbal shows of affection, and Dream could imagine how he would feel when he found out his best friend had a crush on him. He’d shut down, probably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deep down, Dream knew that he couldn’t go on like this forever, pretending everything was fine and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> ogling George at every opportunity, but he was determined to hold it off for as long as he could. Dream hated getting hurt as much as anyone, maybe even more so.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When George had shown up at the baggage claim in his letterman jacket, looking adorably frustrated at Dream’s accidental mixup, Dream had needed to stop himself from rushing over and kissing him, right then and there. That would definitely have started the visit off with a bang… and probably solidified it’s failure. George would have closed up, told Dream to go home, whatever. No more Dream Team. There was possibly no coming back from that, though maybe if he tried… No. He had to stop entertaining the idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There would be no great confessions to George, no grand romantic gestures. Just everyday friendship things – and </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bit of harmless flirting. George was easy to fluster, and he was totally clueless, which made it all the more fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then, his phone buzzed from the nightstand. Dream fumbled for it with his left arm, so as not to wake George. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a Discord message from Sapnap. Of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Dream swiped open to their conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Sapnap</b>
  <span>: </span>
  <em>
    <span>dream, dude, have u told him yet?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Sapnap: </b>
  <em>
    <span>why the hell not? u only have like a week to do this! </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>u really wanna spend that whole time ALONE with him and do nothing?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>Dream:</b>
  <em>
    <span> yep</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>Sapnap: </b>
  <em>
    <span>what the fuck, man</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>lame</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>lame</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>lame</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>lame </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>only pussies dont tell someone when they like them dream</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>oh, like you do? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dream rolled his eyes at Sapnap’s brash responses. </span>
  <em>
    <span>thanks for the help tho, i guess</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>Sapnap: </b>
  <em>
    <span>im the best wingman bro we both know it</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>but i cant wing for you if you dont fucking LISTEN TO ME</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>Dream: </b>
  <em>
    <span>fuck off.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning off his phone, Dream sighed again and lay back down. Why couldn’t he just lay here with George forever? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream knew that answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, he could at least enjoy it while it lasted. Shifting onto his side slightly, Dream draped an arm around George and let his eyes drift shut, blocking out the weak early morning light. George fit perfectly in his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as he had in the dream.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! Again, Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated, but not necessary!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. In Between</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dream and George decide on an activity.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AHHH it's finally out! Oh my god guys I'm so so sorry for the delay with this chapter :(( I've been stressed with school and the internal pressure to upload a chapter was too much on top of the lack of motivation and inspiration gosh :') but anyway it's out now and it's preparing for the next chapter and I couldn't come up with a good title so here you go, hope you enjoy! Thanks a ton for sticking around, and to all the people who commented especially because looking back on those was the best motivation :) &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George drifted in and out of consciousness, curling into the soft warmth that was partially wrapped around him. </p>
<p>After what could have been seconds, minutes – even hours – he awoke. His mind was hazy, but even without opening his eyes, he felt Dream beside him. Not only beside him — <em> over </em> him. The man’s slender bare arms were draped over George’s shoulder and waist, and George’s face was pressed into the crook of his neck. </p>
<p>Peeling his eyes open, George risked a glance at Dream’s face. The early morning light filtered in from the window above him to illuminate his features. His eyes were shut, dark honey-coloured eyelashes just barely brushing his cheekbones. The weak light shone through Dream’s hair, making the strands look pale golden among the floating dust motes. His mouth hung half-open in relaxation, and his breathing was deep and even. George could feel the slow rise and fall of his chest, bare and warm against George’s tank top.</p>
<p>He let himself stay there for a moment, revel in the peace, warmth, and security their embrace provided. He could even smell Dream’s minty scent, knowing it was from the shampoo he’d borrowed from George. It filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction knowing that they shared the same shampoo. That they smelled of each other now. </p>
<p>Though this was somewhat enjoyable, George knew he needed to move.</p>
<p>Slowly, as not to wake him, George shifted away from Dream’s warmth and over to the side of the bed he had started off on, ignoring the slight twinge of regret when Dream’s arms slid away from him. Letting out a sigh of what was mostly relief (George still <em> hated </em> physical intimacy, even if it was just a hug – so why did he feel at home in Dream’s arms?), George let his eyes fall shut, and sleep found him once again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He squinted his eyes open to see that Dream was still shirtless, and currently staring down at him, an unreadable look in his eyes. The bright light of midday flooding in despite the blinds emphasized the crystalline formations in Dream’s irises even from a foot or two away, and George was captivated by them.</p>
<p>“‘Morning, sunshine,” Dream grinned. “How’d you sleep?”</p>
<p>Dream’s morning voice was really something else. Deep and husky, it incited a thrill of excitement in him. George wasn’t sure why he would be surprised – anything Dream did was attractive somehow. To everyone.</p>
<p>Though, how anyone could smile in the morning, let alone speak full sentences, was beyond George. He was the opposite of a morning person, and hated interacting with anyone before noon. That being said, Dream was an exception for a lot of his internal rules. So, George gathered up his energy and smiled back. The smile immediately dissolved into a frown again when he felt something crusty pulling at the corner of his mouth. He aggressively wiped the dried drool away with his hand, pulling a disgusted face, and Dream laughed at him.</p>
<p>“Good, thanks. Howbout you are youfeelin better?” George could only mumble.</p>
<p>“Much,” answered Dream. He hesitated, looking down at his hands. “Thank you for last night.”</p>
<p>Right. Last night. George had been hesitant to go in, knowing the type of commitment that was required in person this time, instead of over the phone. He knew that Dream needed him, though, so he’d opened the door and prepared to comfort him. Seeing Dream shirtless, however, had momentarily stalled him, until he’d looked at George with the most excruciating expression. Then, worry had consumed him. </p>
<p>Sleeping in the same bed as Dream, however shirtless, felt strangely natural to George. Being best friends, it seemed, was removing a lot of his subconscious apprehension about intimacy, and sleeping next to someone was intimate in its own right.</p>
<p>“No problem; mm glad I could help,” George answered honestly, still barely moving his lips. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping to wake up enough to carry out a proper conversation.</p>
<p>They were quiet for a second. Dream played with a fraying thread on the comforter; George watched him do it.</p>
<p>“So, what are we doing today? After breakfast, of course,” Dream added with a grin. George grinned back.</p>
<p>“Of course. Umm… I sort of made a list?” He didn’t know why he phrased it as a question, only that he thought it seemed a little weird when admitted aloud. “We can pick something to do from that whenever we’re out of ideas.”</p>
<p>“Look at you,” Dream teased. “So prepared. You’re like a mom.”</p>
<p>George was beginning to get uncomfortable with the amount of times Dream had compared him to a mother. “That’s, like, the fifth time you’ve called me that. Mommy issues, Dream?”</p>
<p>Dream made a face, his cheeks flushing. “No way,” he defended with an uncomfortable chuckle.</p>
<p>George giggled at the other man’s expression. “Whatever you say, Dream. Don’t worry, everyone’s got <em> some </em> issues.”</p>
<p>Dream shook his head at him in mock frustration. “You’re an idiot. So, should we get some breakfast? We need to get ready, too, if we’re going anywhere.”</p>
<p>George snorted at the quick subject change. “Sure.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After they’d eaten breakfast and Dream had met Tiger (she’d been much too scared to emerge the day before, preferring to hide underneath George’s bed until he was safely in the guest room), who warmed up to him pretty quickly, the boys got ready and reconvened at the kitchen counter.</p>
<p>They slid onto stools next to each other and George propped his phone up on the countertop between them. He’d added to the list since he first started it, and now they had more possible activities to do.</p>
<p>“So,” he began, swiping to the Notes app, “I came up with going out – for dinner or something else, doesn’t matter – uh… having a movie marathon, karaoke night, arts and crafts, a card game –”</p>
<p>“Hold on,” Dream cut him off with a lifted hand, already wheezing. “Did you get these off the internet?”</p>
<p>George pressed his lips together, feeling his cheeks redden. “No…”</p>
<p>Dream threw his head back and cackled. “You definitely looked up ‘things to do with friends,’ didn’t you.” He took one look at George’s face and wheezed again at whatever he saw. “That’s rich!”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” George grumbled. He went back to reading the list. “Go for a walk? No, let’s remove that one… I think that’s it. Which do you like better?” He asked, risking a glance at Dream. Thankfully, the other man had composed himself somewhat and was already looking at George.</p>
<p>“Hm… I kinda like the karaoke idea.” Dream grinned widely. <em> Shit. </em> </p>
<p>“No way,” George protested. </p>
<p>“Yes, way. Karaoke is on the list; I want to do it. Unless you’re going back on your word?” Dream raised his eyebrows knowingly.</p>
<p>George grumbled. “I don’t even know why I put that on the list. Of <em> course </em>you would choose karaoke, out of all of the perfectly good options.”</p>
<p>“Karaoke <em> is </em>a perfectly good option. Plus, I want to hear you sing.” Dream grinned, nudging George’s shoulder with his own.</p>
<p>This would not go well, George knew. Still, he forced a smile and said, “Just warning you, I’m sort of shit at singing.”</p>
<p>“That’s fine,” Dream replied, winking. “I’ll pop off enough for the both of us.”</p>
<p>“Perfect.” George rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>“When do you think we should go? Maybe after dinner?”</p>
<p>“Sounds good, I guess.” George checked the time. “While I wait to embarrass myself… You up for some Minecraft? Sapnap is streaming, and Karl and Quackity probably aren’t up to joining yet. I’m sure his chat is begging for us, anyway.”</p>
<p>“True,” Dream agreed with a grin. “Can’t wait to freak chat out again by talking through the same mic.” He winked.</p>
<p>“Really.” George raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to try to fit your computer on the desk next to me?” Dream nodded. “Good luck with that.”</p>
<p>Dream stuck out his tongue in reply and pushed off the stool, heading into the spare bedroom to retrieve his computer. Meanwhile, George went to his room to boot up Minecraft. </p>
<p>Once he was successfully logged on and DMing Sapnap for the server IP, Dream entered, lugging a chunky 2000s-looking computer along with a bundle of cords. He grunted as he set it down on the floor next to George’s desk.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh, how old is that thing?”</p>
<p>“Eh, ‘few years.”</p>
<p>It looked more than “a few years” old, but George kept quiet. “...Okay then. Set up, and we’ll join the world and Sapnap’s call.”</p>
<p>“Alright, Mr. Bossy,” Dream snarked.</p>
<p>“Mr. Bossy?” George broke into laughter, glancing up at Dream, who stood behind him. “What are you, two?”</p>
<p>Dream chuckled, dark blond hair falling over his forehead as he crouched under the desk to plug everything in. George turned back to his monitor as he entered the IP Sapnap had provided.</p>
<p>Dream’s bare arm brushed against the exposed skin of George’s ankle, and he reflexively shifted his leg away. Dream gave no indication that he’d noticed, continuing to plug cords into the outlet power strip.</p>
<p>Finally, after a few seconds – that felt like minutes, since George was hyper-aware of his closeness – Dream straightened up just to the left of George. “God, George, your desk is a mess.”</p>
<p>George shrugged without looking up, focused on the loading screen.</p>
<p>Wheezing, Dream said, “George! You’re not even gonna help me? Clear some of your shit off!”</p>
<p>“Um… I’m good!” George stated brightly. He started on his way to find Sapnap in-game, who had fled several blocks away from spawn after hitting George with his bare hand right off the bat.</p>
<p><em> SAPNAP JOIN VC, </em>he typed in the in-game chat. A second later, his other monitor bleeped with the noise of Sapnap joining the Discord call he’d been sitting in alone. As this happened, Dream dragged in a stool he’d retrieved from the kitchen and set it up beside George.</p>
<p>“Sapnap!” George yelled, directly into his microphone.</p>
<p>“What’s up?” Sapnap asked, his deep voice sleepy-sounding, as it usually was.</p>
<p>It was at this moment that Dream chose to unceremoniously shove everything off of half of George’s desk to make way for the monstrosity he called a computer. Pens, batteries, his cricket ball — all went tumbling to the ground with a clatter. The mess of papers, Dream gathered into a neat stack, then dropped them unceremoniously atop the clutter too. </p>
<p>Well, at least he hadn’t shoved them off like everything else. Then there would be a <em> serious </em> problem.</p>
<p>George gaped at him, fingers flying off the keyboard as his hands hovered just above in shock. </p>
<p>“Dream! What the hell?! My- I had-” He couldn’t form a proper sentence. His jaw hung open, his eyes were wide, and he was sure it looked ridiculous. </p>
<p>Dream looked at him for all of two seconds before he started wheezing, doubling over – confirming George’s thought.</p>
<p>“What just happened?” Sapnap asked, laughing already.</p>
<p>“Dream just – knocked all the stuff off my desk!” George was partly frustrated, partly amused – more frustrated, though. “To make room for his stupid computer thing!”</p>
<p>Sapnap giggled into the call. </p>
<p>“‘Thing’? What do you mean, ‘thing’? It’s still a computer, George,” Dream argued through his laughter. Sapnap laughed even harder, and George could see that Sapnap’s stream chat was ‘LMAO’-ing along. </p>
<p>“Alright, alright, enough! Let’s just play the game.” George rolled his eyes. “You’re cleaning that up later, Dream.” George set his gamemode to Creative and started running aimlessly, placing blocks underneath him all over the server.</p>
<p>“Of course,” Dream answered as if it was obvious, finally sitting down on his stool. He could tell it had been a struggle to lug the “computer” onto the desk from Dream’s laboured breathing and grunts, and it gave him some amount of satisfaction. </p>
<p>George had doubted the ability of Dream’s “computer” to run the game, but it seemed to be running fine so far, if not slowly.</p>
<p>“This is still my stream, just to be clear,” Sapnap stated. “You aren’t allowed to steal the show anymore, okay Dream? <em> I’m </em> the main character here.”</p>
<p>“No promises,” Dream smiled into George’s mic, partially leaning in front of him. As expected, Sapnap’s chat was freaking out again, hearing Dream speak that closely into George’s mic. He shifted it closer to Dream so he wouldn’t have to lean so far over.</p>
<p>“Are you going to join or what? George is only interesting when you’re here,” Sapnap joked.</p>
<p>“Shut up, Sapnap,” George shot back. Dream chuckled.</p>
<p>“I’m joining, I’m joining. The computer that I brought isn’t exactly as high quality as my PC.”</p>
<p>“Oh, like you, a millionaire, can’t afford a good computer. Yeah, right.” Sapnap’s eye roll was almost audible.</p>
<p>“You know what, Sapnap?” Dream started.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“...Fuck you,” he mumbled. George and Sapnap burst out laughing.</p>
<p>“Nice one, Dream.” Sapnap’s character shook his head in George’s view.</p>
<p>Finally, Dream joined the game, and they convened at spawn.</p>
<p>“So boys, what should we do?” Sapnap asked. His chair creaked through his mic as he shifted.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” George answered unhelpfully.</p>
<p>“Umm… We could do, like, a manhunt. For fun.” Dream suggested.</p>
<p>“Hmm, all right. I’ll run, you guys hunt. Gogy is useless, anyway.” Sapnap ran away while George sputtered in objection. Dream laughed at him, glancing over. George had almost forgotten they were in the same room; it already felt so natural. </p>
<p>“Oh Sapnap,” Dream sang out, already closing in on Sapnap, who had paused to get wood.</p>
<p>“Ah!” He shouted, abandoning the tree and hopping away.</p>
<hr/>
<p>An hour or two later, Dream had slain Sapnap so many times that the other man refused to acknowledge the number (by George’s count, it was thirteen). After the Texan had loudly complained – well, <em> whined </em> was a better word – for the hundredth time, the boys had given up on the manhunt side of things, just running around in Creative. Karl had joined VC, and he and Sapnap were cajoling Quackity to join as well. Restless from their hours of Minecraft and excited - or nervous - for the night ahead of them, George and Dream took their leave, laughing at Karl’s passive-aggressive jabs and Sapnap’s blatant begging for them to stay. Quackity joined at the last second to say “Fuck you, GeorgeNotFound,” and “Goodbye, Dream” in a truly shit British accent.</p>
<p>Once they both logged off, he and Dream looked at each other and burst into laughter.</p>
<p>“So, pretty much as we predicted, huh?” Dream asked once they’d both calmed down. George nodded.</p>
<p>“We know the fans too well. They’re thirsty.” He grinned at Dream, who cackled. </p>
<p>“That they are.” He checked his plain black digital watch, which sat on his left wrist alongside a rubber bracelet. “It’s almost six. Should we get ready for dinner?”</p>
<p>“Sure. Want to just order in? Or we could go out and grab something at the karaoke place,” George suggested. </p>
<p>His stomach had a pit in it just thinking about what tonight held in store. Sure, karaoke with Dream would be fun, but he didn’t think he could get up on that stage and – and <em> sing </em> in front of whoever was there. Part of him, the part of him that knew Dream better than the back of his hand, knew that Dream was just as nervous, and he’d only chosen karaoke to mess with George. Dream never thought about the aftereffects of his own decisions on himself. Still, George knew he’d go through with it, give it his all, because that’s what Dream did. If Dream could, George would do the same. He’d just have to try a little harder, that’s all. Some alcohol wouldn’t hurt, either – or lots of it.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Dream agreed. “Eating there sounds good.”</p>
<p>“Great.” George swallowed. “I’m gonna go shower,” he said lamely. Dream smirked, nodding. </p>
<p>“Gettin’ all dolled up for me, sweetheart?” Dream drawled in a crappy Southern accent. “Don’t worry, Georgie darlin’, you’re plenty purdy already.” He grinned cheekily, giving an exaggerated wink.</p>
<p>“That was horrible,” George shot back disdainfully. Pushing out of his chair, he walked past Dream, who was starting to unplug his… machine. “I hope you plan on cleaning up your mess first!” George called out as he walked into the bathroom.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah.”</p>
<hr/>
<h2>
  <b>Dream</b>
</h2>
<p>Dream heard the shower turn on. Frantically, he reached for his phone and opened Discord. </p>
<p><b>Dream: </b> <em> SAPNAP </em></p>
<p><b>Sapnap: </b> <em> dude, im still streaming wtf do u want???? </em></p>
<p><b>Dream: </b> <em> me and George are doing karaoke tonight </em></p>
<p><b>Sapnap: </b> <em> ...so? </em></p>
<p><b>Dream:</b> <em> SO i only picked it to fuck with him and now i might have to sing in front of a crowd, with GEORGE, of all people </em></p>
<p><b>Sapnap: </b> <em> ok so suck it up dream, u picked it </em></p>
<p><b>Dream:</b> <em> ugh, i know </em></p>
<p>Dream sighed, leaning back on the stool. Why had he just <em> had </em> to pick karaoke, of all things? Not even that was worth making George squirm. Although… there was the possibility of him hearing George <em> actually </em> sing. He wouldn’t dare do that obnoxious singing voice in a bar full of people.</p>
<p><b>Dream:</b> <em> what if we sing a duet, </em>he speculated to Sapnap. And, okay, there may have been a little bit of hope in his chest.</p>
<p><em> we could have a </em> moment <em> at the end of it, like in the movies </em></p>
<p><b>Sapnap:</b> <em> do u even know if he likes guys? </em></p>
<p>Dream sighed again. </p>
<p><b>Dream: </b> <em> no</em>, he answered dejectedly.</p>
<p><b>Sapnap: </b> <em> i suggest finding that out first, mr. hopeless romantic, </em>Sapnap shot back. </p>
<p>
  <em> if its meant to be, itll be </em>
</p>
<p><b>Dream:</b> <em> don’t quote Florida Georgia Line at me smh </em></p>
<p>
  <em> … have a good rest of ur stream pls dont tell quackity or karl about this </em>
</p>
<p>Sapnap was the only person he was out to, and he wanted to keep it that way.</p>
<p><b>Sapnap:</b> <em> i promise, dude, i wont </em></p>
<p>
  <em> have fun at karaoke cutie ;) </em>
</p>
<p>Dream shook his head, smiling, and turned off his phone. Leaning over to survey the mess on the ground, he turned back to his computer. Pushing back the stool, he stood and strained to pick it up off the desk. He let out an <em> oof </em>as he brought it to his chest and finally set it on the ground with a less-than-elegant thud. Dusting off his hands, he started picking up the various papers and knicknacks he’d tossed on the floor earlier.</p>
<p>Still, he worried about karaoke. Drinks would be involved – he didn’t drink, but he knew George did. God, another thing to be wary of. Drunken George. When George was drunk, he got bold, and when George got bold, Dream got bolder. He let things slip that he normally wouldn’t, say one thing where he usually would have held his tongue.</p>
<p>Dream couldn’t help but wonder: <em> Would tonight be the night he came out to George? </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks a ton for reading! Feel free (but not obligated) to leave comments and/or Kudos, they're really nice for me to see! :) Fair warning, the next chapter will probably take around as long to come out :/ Hopefully shorter than that though!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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